JPS6017707B2 - Non-impact printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a flat support carrying a plurality of printing elements;
The present invention relates to a non-impact printing device having a set of conductors for selectively energizing printing elements and a base member for mounting a support within the printing device.

Impulse printing devices are known that have a single printhead removably mounted to a base member. Also known are non-impact printing devices, in particular of the electrothermal type, in which the print head comprises a set of conductors which must come into contact with corresponding conductors carried on a base member.
Therefore, in these devices, attachment of the printhead to the base member requires a considerable degree of precision, and therefore the printhead cannot be easily removed except for maintenance or repair.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a non-impact printing device with a non-impact printing head that can be easily installed by a user.

The features of the non-impact printing device according to the present invention are as follows:
means for positioning and removably securing a flat support relative to a base member, the base member being in contact with the set of conductors as described above when the print head is positioned within the base member; It is equipped with a conductive board piece. Due to this configuration, the support body can be easily and reliably positioned and locked to the base member, and the support body can also be easily removed. Further, since a means for preventing movement of the support relative to the base member is provided, the support does not move under the influence of printing pressure, and clear printing can be performed. Furthermore, guide means are provided to assist in mounting the support, making the mounting operation even easier. Furthermore, when the support is locked to the base member, the conductive thin plate piece that comes into contact with the conductor of the print head applies a force that tilts the support toward the locked position, making the locking even more reliable. . In another embodiment, the locking means is composed of a pin with a group and a lever that elastically moves in and out of the group to achieve reliable locking.Hereinafter, the printing apparatus of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. , features of the present invention are illustrated in FIGS. 14-19 and will be described in detail later.

First, a first example of a thermoelectric print head used in the printing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

The head consists of a support 10 (FIG. 2) in the form of a rectangular plate, on the plane 11 of which are located adjacent to its sides 12 7
resistive elements 13 are arranged, and the resistive elements 13 are arranged on the side 12.
, each resistive element having a base in contact with the plane 11. Each base is substantially rectangular (FIG. 4) with its short sides 14 parallel to the sides 12. The surface of the resistive element 13 facing the base in contact with the plane 11 assumes a partial cylindrical shape, its generatrix parallel to the short side 14 and its concave surface facing towards the base in contact with the plane 11. (Figure 5).
Seven feed conductors 15 deposited on a plane 11
(FIG. 2) are each associated with a corresponding resistive element 13 and extend substantially parallel to each other, and these conductors are in contact with the resistive element 13 along the dimension of the short side 14 of the resistive element 13. (FIG. 4) adjacent side 12 and away from side 16 until it extends partially downwardly of the base.

The seven return conductors 17 deposited on the plane 11 are
A common resistive element 13 extending perpendicularly to the side 12 and in contact with the resistive element 13 at one end along a contact line parallel to the short side 14 and at the other end deposited on the plane 11 It is in contact with conductor 18. A common conductor 18 extends parallel to side 12 to side 16 (FIG. 2). The return conductor 17 is located partially below the base of the resistive element. The technique for depositing these resistive elements and conductors on the plane 11 in this manner may be any one of the techniques known in the art.

A suitable example is thick film technology. 2nd, 4th, 5th
When using this technique, the conductors 15, 17 leave a gap of several tens of microns between each feed conductor 15 and the corresponding return conductor 17 to form the pattern shown in the figure. 4, and in accordance with the shape shown in FIG. 4, a thick film of a conductive base, such as gold, silver, or palladium, is first deposited. In this way, the return conductor 17 is not covered with conductive material and corresponds to the feed conductor 15.
Seven rectangular areas 20 are formed on the plane 11 interposed between the areas 20, which are aligned parallel to the sides 12 of the plane 11 and whose feedcon. It has a dimension equal to the width of the conductor and the return conductor and equal to the width of the gap a (several tens of microns). Another thick layer of resistive paste, such as oxide of bismuth, oxide of ruthenium, precious metals, is then deposited in each zone 20 using thickening techniques, so as to achieve the desired thickness and requirements. A resistor element 13 having a cross section is obtained.

By suitably controlling the deposition operation of these resistive thick film layers, it is possible to obtain the curved outer surface of the resistive element as described above.

The resistive layer is an extension of the resistive glue above the conductive layers 15, 17, 18 and beyond the above-mentioned area 20, so that, at least from an electrical point of view, the underlying conductive layer A portion of the resistive element 13 is formed which is completely short-circuited by the conductive layers 15, 17, 18. This portion of the electrically active resistive element 13 is located within the area 20 mentioned above and is delimited in FIG. 5 by hatched lines. Within the ranges mentioned above, the dimensions of the area 20 and the dimensions of the conductive layers 15, 17, 18 can vary arbitrarily.

In practice, when the thickness of the conductive layer is set to 7 to 10 peaks, the width of the conductive layer is set to 200 mm near the area 20, and the gap width is set to 50 mm, the minimum electric loss is achieved, and the printed characters Good results were obtained, such as good sharpness and faster printing speeds. The distance between one resistive element and another resistive element is determined by the height of the characters to be printed and by the necessity to maintain good electrical isolation between each resistive element 13 and the next resistive element. Depends on gender.

When printing characters with a height of 2.54 kites, set the distance to 2.
Setting the value to 00m gives satisfactory results. The function of the resistive element 13 is to generate heat in the area 20 when current is passed through it, thereby creating a "hot spot" having the dimensions of the area 20. Therefore, the resistance of these resistive elements must be at least greater than the resistance of the corresponding conductor. In reality, 150 to 2
It has been found that the resistance of the element is 60-1000, which is sufficient to heat the element to a temperature of 150-200 DEG C. by passing a current of 0. FIG. 6.7 shows another example of a hot exposure print head that can be used in the printing apparatus of the invention. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the area of the plane 11 of the support plate 10 adjacent to the side 12. The shape of the conductor 15 in the remaining part of the plane 11 is the same as in the first example. On the other hand, in this area, what is different from the first example is that
The conductor 15 has a first portion 30 whose width is reduced to have a larger relative distance than in the first example, and a width of each conductor is increased compared to the width of the first portion. The connecting end portion 31 is increased in width compared to the width of the corresponding portion of the connecting end portion 31 . In fact, the width of this section is approximately 300 mm, while the corresponding distance between the conductors 15 is approximately 100 mm in their end portions.
The end portion 31 of the conductor 15 faces a conductor 18 placed on the plane 11 , the conductor 18 being spaced apart from the end portion 31 by a gap b and extending parallel to the side 12 . It has reached 16. A strip 35 consisting of several thick layers of resistive paste is placed parallel to the side 2 over the end portion 31 and the conductor 18 and over the entire area associated with the conductor 15. positioned.

The strip 35 has a surface which does not touch the plane 11, which surface has a partial cylindrical shape (i.e. an arcuate shape) with a concave surface facing towards the plane 11 (FIG. 7), the generatrix of which lies on the side 12. is parallel to When a suitable value of potential difference is applied between one of the conductors 15 and the conductor 18, a current will flow in the circuit consisting of these conductors 15, 18 and the resistive area between them, thereby causing this energized The end portion 31 of the conductor 15 and the common conductor 1
8, thereby creating a substantially rectangular "hot spot" having dimensions approximately equal to the width of the end portion 31 and the width of the gap b, as in the first example above. limit. The layering of conductor 15 is such as to prevent undue heating of the portion of the resistive strip adjacent to the thermally energized portion. Compared to the first example, such an arrangement of the conductors 15 avoids physical separation of the resistive elements 13 while ensuring the required thermal insulation between the parts of the strip included between each conductor 15. As mentioned above, the print head is designed to print characters using a matrix of dots in the basic printing strokes, such that during each printing stroke, the columns of characters are
Printing is performed on the recording medium as a continuous relative movement with respect to the head during the printing operation.

The heat-sensitive recording medium 25 (FIG. 3) is, for example, a heat-sensitive recording medium 25 (FIG. 3).
The heat-sensitive material may be made of treated paper consisting of an ordinary low sheet acting as a support, covered with a layer of a heat-sensitive material, which has certain threshold properties of the material. It has the characteristic of changing color when heated to a temperature exceeding . The initial and final colors (i.e., the colors before and after the change) are dependent on the paper support and the heat-sensitive material covering it. Generally, these colors should be very light at the beginning and very dark at the end to provide good contrast in printing. Another recording medium may be the known thermally conductive ink ribbon interposed between the head and a regular paper sheet, onto which ink is transferred by selectively heating the ink ribbon. When printing, the head uses the resistive element 13 or the resistive strip 35.
is guided onto a heat-sensitive paper sheet 25, for example of the type described above, such that the columns are in contact with the paper and perpendicular to the line to be printed (FIG. 3). Thus, the total length of the column of seven resistive elements 13 or strips 35 determines the height of the characters to be printed. By using a support 10 in the form of a rectangular plate as shown in FIGS.
The thermoelectric head may also be positioned such that the surface of the plane 11 of the support plate 10 forms an angle Q of several degrees (0.5o to 2.5o) with the plane of the paper. This oblique position is caused by the fact that the resistive layer separating the plane 11 from the paper sheet 25 is extremely thin (typically 60 mm), as can occur if the plane 11 of the head is parallel to the plane of the paper sheet. below) for
This is effective in preventing the head from getting caught on the paper.
However, the tilt of the head relative to the heat-sensitive paper sheet is not essential. The reason is that such interference depends on the type of support used as conductive and resistive elements. FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 show further examples of print heads that can be used in the printing apparatus of the present invention.

In this print head, the support is such as to prevent the possibility of the head getting stuck on the recording medium, and the print head is also such that the print head is mounted without obstructing the support with respect to the recording medium. , can slide over the recording medium and can print in two directions on the recording medium. In FIGS. 8 and 9, the support 10 has an isosceles trapezoidal cross section in which the short side and the oblique side intersect at an obtuse angle 8 of 1800 or less (FIG. 9). resistive element 13 or resistive strip 35 and conductor 15,
The end portions of the conductor 15 are arranged according to the geometry of FIGS.
, 18 is a surface 39 corresponding to the hypotenuse of the cross-sectional shape of the support,
It extends over 40. The head is positioned with respect to the recording medium 25 in the relationship shown in FIG. 9 (ie, with surface 37 parallel to the recording medium). In FIG. 10, the support 10 has a partially cylindrical surface 28 with a generatrix perpendicular to the plane of the page of FIG.

In this case, a resistive element is placed on top of the surface 28 along the busbar. The conductors 5, 18 are suitably spaced apart on the surface 28. The head is configured with respect to the recording medium in the relationship shown in FIG. relationship). Whatever type of support is used, contact occurs between the resistive element 13 or resistive strip 35 and the recording medium (heat-sensitive paper sheet) 25.

This is because the curved surface of the element 13 follows a tangential line (theoretically only one line) perpendicular to the print line and perpendicular to the direction of movement of the head along the paper sheet. In practice, this tangential line has a finite width of less than 50 French, ie less than the width of the area 20 (gap a) of the resistive element 13 or less than the gap b of the strip 35. The feed conductor 15 and the common return conductor 18 are connected to a selection and control circuit which, during the movement of the head with respect to the paper sheet, in the columns of resistive elements 13 necessary for forming the characters to be printed. The resistive element is electrically and therefore thermally energized. Since this circuit is similar to the known type disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,777,116, it will not be described in detail herein. "Hot spot" of the type described above
Using this, the sliding speed of the head across the paper sheet can be significantly increased without resorting to extremely short energization times that are difficult to control. Width of the printing "hot spot" and the resulting printed spot (usually this printed spot is square and its width corresponds to the height of the printing "hot spot")
In fact, increasing the sliding speed of the head across the paper sheet increases the thermal energization time of the "hot spot" during the sliding movement of the head to obtain a printed spot of the desired size. It is obvious that we can shorten correspondingly. However, the time required to change the temperature of a resistive element below a certain value corresponding to the thermal inertia of each resistive element 13 (i.e., from a value above the threshold to a value below the threshold or from a value below the threshold to a value above the threshold) ) is impossible to limit the activation time. Thermal inertia is generally a function of the dimensions of the body to be heated, and therefore the fact that the resistive element 13 has been configured with the characteristics described above (i.e. so that the dimensions of the heated part are minimized) and The fact that the resistive element is in tangential contact with the recording medium has the advantage of reducing thermal inertia and of good sharpness and coloration of the printed dots even at high sliding speeds. This provides the advantage that relatively long energization times can be used, resulting in higher energization times. In terms of resistance and current values, the power required to energize a resistive element is reduced to a very small value (such as 2 to 4 watts), small enough to allow power supply from a battery. It can be done. 11, 12, and 13 show further examples of thermoelectric print heads that can be used in the printing apparatus of the present invention,
In this example, the same accuracy of conductor and resistive layer placement is maintained, and the different geometries of the electrode and feed conductors give approximately twice as good definition as obtained in the previous example.

In particular, for letters of the same height, there is provided a column of one-stitch "hot spots" or printing spots that can be individually energized. However, it is clear that this type of arrangement would require a selection and control circuit designed to selectively energize one hot point instead of seven hot points. Referring to FIG. 12, a first set of seven conductors are deposited by thick film technology on a support 10 of the type shown in FIG. 9 and having an isosceles trapezoidal cross section. 67 and a second set of seven conductors 68 to 74 are placed, respectively, and these conductors are arranged at equal intervals on the two oblique sides 39 and 40, respectively, and on the surface (short side) 37. have enlarged end portions 61a to 63a, etc. and 68a to 70a, etc., respectively, and the end portions of each set are opposed to each other, but are arranged alternately as shown in FIG. The distance c between each conductor of the first set and the corresponding (opposing) conductor of the second set is approximately 50 degrees. The width d of the total part is the same for each set and is about 350 Buddhas. The distance e between two consecutive end sections of the same set is 30-50r. The width f of the conductor near the end portion is approximately 100 mm. Opposing end portion 61
Above a to 63a, etc. and 68a to 70a, etc., a strip 75 consisting of several layers of resistive paste in the form of a protective film is placed by thick-film technology, this strip becoming problematic in the end areas. It extends perpendicular to the direction of the conductor over the entire area covered by the conductor. The strip has a cylindrical curved surface that is not in contact with surface 37, the concave side of the curved surface facing toward surface 37 (FIG. 13). As shown, each set of conductors includes switches 61b to 67b.
and 68b-74b to the opposite poles of a generator 76 having an appropriate value of potential.

For example, if switches 61b and 69b are closed at the same time,
Area 81 of resistive strip 75 included between conductors 61, 69 and facing portions of end portions 61a and 69a
A current flows in the circuit configured by. This current heats the resistive paste located in area 81, causing approximately 5
A "hot spot" of dimensions 0 mm x 150 r is defined. The location of the conductor and the selection of the dimensions of the conductor are such that portions of the resistive strip adjacent to the selected resistive strip are prevented from heating.

Because there are 13 zones where the end portions of the first set of conductors are opposite the end portions of the second set of conductors, a plurality of hot points (areas) 80-8 are present in the resistive strip 75.
4, etc., and these hot spots can be selectively energized individually and, if desired, physically isolated by lateral grooves 96 provided in the strip 5. sell. By using the dimensions shown, the placement technique in this example requires less precision than in the two examples described above, and does not require the aforementioned considerations regarding the positioning of the head with respect to the recording medium and how it is printed. It is. 2
The set of conductors is of a general type designed to energize points 80-84, etc. of the resistive strip as necessary to print the desired character during each basic printing operation, with the necessary delay. control and selection circuitry of the type known in the art.

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a printing apparatus according to the invention using the thermoelectric print head of FIGS. 2-5 and including a carriage for moving the head along a printing line.

The head is fixed, for example by adhesive, to the surface 43 of a support block 44, which is arranged at the desired angle of inclination Q and in such a manner that the resistive elements 13 are perpendicular to the printing line (described in detail later). and a falsifying and locking device 46 fixed to the carriage 47 for the purpose of falsifying the support block 44 and thus the head fixed to the block so that the head is in contact with the heat-sensitive paper sheet 25. It is now possible to engage.

Eight electrically conductive elastic lamellas 48 affixed to the carriage 47 are also connected to a selection and control circuit (not shown) via cables 49, and these laminas are connected to the support block 4.
4 is positioned on the carriage 47, it contacts the end portions of the seven conductors 15 and the conductor 18 closest to the side 16 of the support plate 10, thereby establishing an electrical connection between the conductors and the selection and control circuit described above. Guarantee. The carriage 47 is mounted so as to be movable on guides 50 that extend transversely to the heat-sensitive paper sheet 25 and are fixed to the main body 42 at both ends.

The carriage can also pivot about this guide 50, and for this purpose it co-tracks with a shank 51 which is fixed to the body 42 and is movable in a vertical direction. Means for continuously moving the carriage along the guide are known and are not shown.

A heat-sensitive paper sheet is fed off a reel 52 and pulled stepwise by rollers 53, 54, moving the paper sheet to a new printing line for each printing step. The paper sheet 25 is in contact with a flat plate 55 fixed to the body 42 along the printing line. During the movement of the carriage from the left to the right in FIG. is applied to form characters 56. When the carriage IJ completes its motion stroke to the right (FIG. 1), the rod 51 moves vertically downward, causing the carriage to pivot clockwise and lift the head away from the heat-sensitive paper sheet. Return the carriage to the left without touching the paper sheet.

During the movement of the carriage to the left, the paper sheet 25 is pulled by rollers 53, 54 and moved to a new printing line. The use of seven or one needle box of resistive elements arranged in an array and perpendicular to the printing line along the height of the characters, i.e. the printing dots 13, is a method of resistive elements using an array of resistive elements with respect to the recording medium. The number is not limited.

For example, the column of resistive elements 13 may have the same length as a print line on the recording medium and include a number of resistive elements equal to a multiple n (for example, 5 times) of the number of characters that can be printed on the print line.

The head is in this case positioned such that the column of resistive elements is parallel to the printing line and perpendicular to the direction of movement of the paper sheet. In this case, the printing is "parallel"
For each basic operation of printing, if m columns,
If we consider characters printed in a matrix of n columns, one of m columns of all characters in one line of printing
Column printing takes place. Next, the features of the printing apparatus of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 14 to 19. First, FIG. 14 shows a carriage 47 which is a unique structure of the printing apparatus of the present invention.
1 shows a first detailed embodiment of a device for positioning and locking the head thereon;

Referring to FIG. 14, the head support plate 10 is secured to the surface 43 of the prismatic support 44 by suitable means such as adhesive. The prismatic support 44 further comprises a surface 100 facing the surface 43 and two flanks 101, 102 extending perpendicularly to the surface 10.

If the cross-section of the support plate 10 is rectangular (i.e., the shape shown in the above-described first example of the print head), the surface 43 will extend beyond the surface 10 by an angle Q corresponding to the angle shown in FIG.
The mirror is tilted with respect to 0. Conversely, if the cross-section of the support plate 10 has an isosceles trapezoidal or partially cylindrical cross-section, as in the case of the other (second and third) heads of the print head, the surfaces 43 and 100 are mutually Must be in parallel relationship. Hereinafter, a device according to the present invention using a head made of a rectangular flat plate as shown in FIG. 3 will be explained with reference to the drawings. Two symmetrically recessed groups 105, 106 on the two flanks 101, 102 extend over the entire height of the support 44 (FIG. 14); Protrusions 107 and 108 that are inclined on the forehead are provided,
Each projection has a first flat working portion 109 and a second flat working portion 110.

A pair of guides 112, 113 are integrally assembled on a flat portion 114 of the carriage 47. Guide 11
2,113 is suitable for engaging the groups 105,106 and supports 4 with respect to the carriage 47.
4 is suitable for allowing a silking movement of the support 44 on these guides for positioning. Two elastic elements 117, 118, for example of flexible plastic material.
is the flat portion 1 of the carriage 47 in a parallel relationship to the guides 112, 113 and at a suitable distance from the guides.
It is integrally assembled on 14. elastic element 117,
The free ends 118 have a tapered shape with flat working portions 120, 121 and are adapted to engage the lateral projections 107, 108 in order to lock the support 44 on the carriage 47. .

Eight elastic conductive foils 48 secured to the flat portion 114 of the carriage 47 are connected to the cable 49 as previously described.
is connected to the thermoelectric printing element selection and control circuitry. The thin piece 48 is attached to the end portion of the conductor 15 near the side 16 of the support plate 10 of the head in FIG.
8 and is positioned so as to apply pressure on the support plate 10 with its elastic force so as to make good electrical contact with the end portion when the support 44 is placed on the carriage. are doing. Support 4 on carriage 47
4, groups 105 and 106 are placed on guide 11.
2 and 113 respectively to bring the surface 43 facing the recording medium (FIG. 1), the support 44 is then guided until its base 124 abuts the flat portion 114 of the carriage 47. 105, 106. During this displacement operation, the protrusion 107
, 108 are connected to elastic elements 117, 1
When cooperating with the flat portion 120 at the distal end of eye 18, these elastic terminals 1 17, 1 18 extend outward, thereby widening the mutual spacing, and furthermore, the displacement movement continues and the protrusion 107, 108 is allowed to enter.

When the surfaces 110, 120 cease their reciprocating engagement, the elastic elements 117, 118 are reset to their initial position, with the base 124 of the support 44 resting on the free end surface 121' of the carriage 47. It engages surfaces 109 of protrusions 107 and 108 to push support 44 against flat portion 114 and to secure the support on the carriage. In the middle, the eight laminae 48 are covered by the support 44 and pressed against the plane 11 of the support 10, thereby ensuring constant electrical contact with the end parts of the conductors 15, 18.

The operation of pulling back the head is performed by grasping the head with the hand and pulling it upward.

For this movement, the flat working parts 10 of the projections 107, 108 with the flat parts 121 of the elastic elements 117, 118
9 causes the elastic element to bulge outward and the guide 11
2,113 and the withdrawal of the support. Figures 15, 16, 17 and 18 show a second embodiment of the positioning and locking device.

This embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that an elastic element is assembled on the support 44, which locks the plate carrying the support on the carriage 47. 15th~
Referring to FIG. 18, the support 44 having a substantially parallelepiped shape has a first surface 130 to which the support plate 10 of the head is attached and fixed, and an angle Q opposite to the surface 130 and corresponding to the angle shown in FIG. a second surface 131 inclined with respect to surface 1301; an upper base 132; a lower base 133 located parallel to base 132 and perpendicular to surface 131; and two flanks 137, 138. Become.

2 provided on the two flanks 137 and 138, respectively.
The two like groups 140, 141 are located at the base 132, 1
It is located symmetrically with respect to the central axis in perpendicular relation to 38 and, starting from the lower base 133, extends perpendicularly to this base by the height of the support 44.

These groups 140, 141 communicate with each other near the upper base 132, thereby forming a hole of substantially square cross section leading from flank 137 to flank 138. A circular hole 145 located in the center of the base 133 below the support 44 extends into the interior of the support 44 in perpendicular relation to the base 133 and reaches the hole 143 . Two similar L-shaped levers 147, 148 have first arms 150, 151 housed in side groups 141, 141, respectively, and holes 145.
and a second arm 152, 153, respectively, symmetrically received within the bore 143 with respect to the axis of the second arm 152,153.

The free ends of the second arms 152, 153 are connected to the flanks 137.
138 respectively constituted by enlarged portions 155, 156 protruding from holes 143, respectively.

Lever 1 47, 1 48 has its arm 1 50, 1
51 are respectively pinned to pins 158, 159 at their free ends, which pins 158, 159 are mounted inside groups 140, 141, respectively, in such a relationship that their axes are perpendicular to surface 131 of support 44. Make it stick.

Pin 16 fixed to flat portion 114 of carriage 47
0 is located perpendicular to this flat part and the carriage 4
hole 14 in support 44 for locking support 44 on 7
It can be inserted into 5.

Pin 160 has a group 161 near its free end. First arms 150, 151 of levers 147, 148
The two protrusions 163164 integrated with the lever 147
, 148, the spring 1 extends between two lugs 167, 168 integrally assembled on the second arms 152, 153 of the
66 is adapted to cooperate with group 161 of pins 160 when support 44 is positioned on carriage 47.

A pin 170 is fixed to the flat part 114 of the carriage 47, which co-operates with the inner surface 171 of the group 141 when the support 44 is positioned on the carriage. The support 44 has two enlarged portions 155, 156 projecting from the flanks 137, 138, respectively, to the spring 16.
The two levers 14 are pressed at the same time against the action of 6.
7 and 148 in opposite directions from each other and are placed on the carriage 47 by separating the two projections 163, 164 and allowing the insertion of the pin 160.

The support 44 is arranged such that the surface 130 of the support faces the recording medium, and the pin 1 is inserted into the support 44 by means of holes 145 in the support.
60 and is displaced until the base 133 contacts the flat 114 of the carriage. continue,
The two enlarged parts 155, 156 allow the two levers 147, 148 to return to their initial position due to the action of the spring 166 and the projections 163, 164 prevent a displacement of the support in the direction of the pin 160. Group 161 of pins 160
He leaves because he wants to meet his grandchild. Furthermore, group 14
The pin 170 cooperating with the inner wall 171 of the 0 prevents the support 44 from rotating about the pin 160. When the insertion operation is completed, the electrically conductive elastic foil 48 ensures electrical connection between the thermoelectric element supported by the head and the control circuit, as in the first embodiment. The support body 44 has protrusions 163, 16
4 is pulled back by pushing the two enlarged parts 155, 156 to release it from the group 161, and the support 44 can then be pulled out from the pin 160.

FIG. 19 shows a third embodiment of a positioning and locking device in a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

This embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that the necessary elastic fixing element is represented by a conductive foil 48. Referring to FIG. 19, the retractable support 44 has a surface 175 that joins the support plate 10 and two sides extending from the base 178 of the support 44 over the entire height of the support. It consists of sliding parts 176, 177 and a guide group 179 extending over the entire height of the support 44.

A lateral group 182 within the inner surface 180 of group 179 is located proximate the lower base 178 .
The carriage 47 has a flat portion 114, a positioning support 183 perpendicular to the flat portion and suitable for receiving a support 44 carrying a head, and a central portion 183 which is threaded into engagement with a group 179 of supports 44. The support member 183 consists of two lateral guide members 185, 186 into which the lateral slide members 176, 177 of the support 44 can slide.

The central guide member 189 is connected to the inner surface 1 of the group 179.
80 and a lateral protrusion 193 located upwardly away from flat portion 114 by a height equal to the distance between group 180 and base 178 of support 44 . is adapted to engage group 182 when support 44 is inserted into carriage 47.

The lateral sliding members 176 , 177 have serrated portions (undulations) 198 , 199 located above the support 44 near the base 195 , the purpose of these undulations being to provide support for the positioning support 183 . To facilitate the insertion and removal of the body 44, the support body 44 is to be easily grasped by hand.

Eight elastic conductive foils 48 secured to the flat portion 114 of the carriage 47 ensure that the support 44 is connected to the support member 183.
When inserted into the conductor 15 on the support plate 10,
18, these flakes are connected to the selection and control circuits described above. Support 4
4, the driving members 176, 177 are connected to the guide members 185, 1
86 and by holding the support plate carrier surface 175 of the support 44 so as to face the recording medium.
placed on the carriage. The support has its lower base 1
78 joins the flat portion 114 and the group 182 is pushed down along the guide sections 185, 186 until it is raised by the action of the elastic conductive foil 48 and engages the protrusion 193. After being set in this way, the support 44 cannot be displaced along the guide members 185, 186. When pulling out the support body 44, the wavy portions 198, 199
by hand and pull the support with sufficient force to release protrusion 193 from group 182.

As already mentioned, the embodiments described herein are merely examples and are not intended to limit the printing device positioning and locking device according to the invention.

Therefore, various modifications are possible within the spirit of the invention. For example, the hole 145 of the second embodiment may be provided in the carriage and the corresponding pin 160 with group 161 may be integrally assembled with the head. In this case, the locking mechanism consisting of levers 147, 148 and spring 166 should be assembled on the carriage. The same machine was provided with the protrusion 193 of the third embodiment on the head, and the corresponding group 1
82 may be provided on the carriage.

Finally, all the embodiments described above include a device that automatically performs a head locking operation by means of elastic means following a positioning operation of the head.

The only operation performed by the user is to displace the head along the positioning guide member. However, the positioning and locking operations can also be carried out separately, for example by using a bag counterfeit with lever means that actuate elastic means under user control when the positioning operation is completed. Similarly, in the head pulling operation, instead of pinching and pulling out the head as shown in the first and third embodiments, an appropriate bar means is used to deactivate the locking elastic means. may be provided to deactivate the elastic means such that the head can be removed from the guide section without the need for a force counteracting the force of the elastic means.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of a printing apparatus of the invention having a thermoelectric print head and devices for positioning and locking the head. FIG. 2 is a front view of a first example of a thermoelectric print head used in a printing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the head of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed view of FIG. 2. Figure 5 shows the fourth
6 is an enlarged detailed front view of a second example of a thermoelectric print head used in a printing apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the skin line in Figure 6;
The figure is a front view of a third example of the head used in the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the head of FIG. 8. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a fourth example of the head used in the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 11 is a front view of a fifth example of a thermoelectric print head used in the printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 12 is an enlarged detailed view of FIG. 11. FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line Xm-Xm in FIG. 12. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a positioning and locking device for removably fixing a head on a carriage in a printing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the positioning and locking device. FIG. 16 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 15. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 16 taken along line W-W. FIG. 18 is a sectional view taken along line V-V of the device of FIG. 17. FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the positioning and locking device. 10: Support plate, 13: Resistance element, 15: Feed conductor, 44
: Support block, 46: Positioning and locking device, 47:
Carriage, 48: Box-guiding thin piece, 105, 106: Group, 107, 108: Projection, 112, 113: Guide, 114: Flat part, 117, 118: Elastic element, 124
: Base, 145: Circular hole, 150, 151: Arm, 1
55, 156: Enlarged part, 160: Pin, 161: Group, 163, 164: Projection, 166: Spring, 170:
Pin, 171: inner surface. FIG. I [G. 2 "IG-3 "IG.4 no.16 no.17 [C.6 FIG.7 riG.8 riG.19 "'G.5 [IC.9 [G.10 FIG-11 f.13'IC .18 FIG.12 FIG.14 Fig.15

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. An electrothermal printing head including a support 44 with a flat support plate 10 carrying a plurality of printing elements made of resistive material and selectively energizing the printing elements. a non-impact printing device having a set of conductors 15 connected to the printing element and provided on the support plate, and a base member 47 for mounting the support into a printing device; first means 46 for positioning and removably locking relative to a base, the base member having a plurality of electrically conductive conductors in contact with the set of conductors when the print head is positioned relative to the base member; locking projections 107, 108 provided on one of the support or the base member for releasably locking the support to the base member; and elastic elements 117, 118 provided on the other side of the support or the base member, the elastic elements 117, 118 being able to flex away from the protrusions in order to remove the support from the base member; is resiliently attached to the base member and adapted to slidably contact the set of conductors when the support is in the locked position. type printing device. 2. A non-impact printing device according to claim 1, wherein a block is provided to prevent rotational movement of the support relative to the base member in response to pressure applied to a flat surface of the printing head during a printing operation. means are provided, the blocking means being provided on the base member such that the support locks with a first planar surface 124 provided on the support substantially perpendicular to the planar surface of the printing head; when the first
a second flat surface 114 in contact with the flat surface. 3. In the non-impact printing device according to claim 1, the first means attaches the support to a locking position of the base member or removes the support from the base member. Guide means 112, 11 for sometimes guiding the support
3, 105, 106. A non-impact type printing device characterized by comprising: 4. In the non-impact printing device according to claim 2, the first means includes a pair of locking protrusions 107 and 108 provided on the support and locking the support to the base member. has a locking member that engages with the locking protrusion when the support body is attached to and detached from the base member, and is elastically deformable by the locking protrusion when the support is attached to and detached from the base member, and is attached to the base member. when the conductive thin plate piece provided on the base member locks the support body to the base member,
A non-impact type printing device characterized in that the support body is biased so that the locking member is engaged and held by the locking protrusion. 5. In the non-impact printing device according to claim 3, the guide means includes a first pin 1 provided on the base member.
60, and the first
said first means comprises a circular hole 145 provided in said support and slidably engageable with said pin; The support is engaged with at least one lever 150 or 151 pivotally connected to the support and having locking elements 163, 164 that enter into the group to prevent sliding of the support along the a spring 166 connected to the lever to urge the locking element into the group when moved to a parked position;
manual actuating means 155, 156 connected to said lever for moving said lever against the action of said spring so as to pull said locking element away from said group; A second pin 170 is provided in the base member parallel to the first pin and in the support parallel to the flat surface of the printing head to prevent the print head from being in a locked position. a third flat surface 171 that engages the second pin to prevent rotation of the support about the first pin.